Genre

A few days ago I started a blog post, but it got deleted.

So frustrating.

Now, this is going to be a completely different blog post because I have been watching YouTube videos critiquing movies and tv shows and books (some that I like and some that I don't). They made me realize why I like certain things and why I don't like other things that seem the same.

Also, it is going to be really long. You can skip down to the second to last paragraph for the point and for a recommendation in the last paragraph.

I got into all of this because of Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) critiques, that were really just “here is why this is one of the greatest shows ever” or “why was Legend of Korra (LOK) not as successful as ATLA”?

I do have to be honest, and say I only watched the first season of LOK. I watched it, and this was my reaction: “I hate Korra and everyone else in this show except maybe Asami.” I am sorry to sound so mean, but if you create a show and by the end of it make everyone annoying or stupid, I am not going to stick around for the second season. I can forgive a subpar plot in a first season. Most plots are ridiculously simple or dumb anyway (ATLA’s plot was “Aang must learn all four elements and defeat the firelord,” not complicated). I don't think the first season of LOK even had a real plot (defeat the equality dude, I guess, maybe, something like that). Like I said though, I can forgive a subpar plot. What I can't forgive is crappy characterization. Even if the plot is amazing, I'm not going to care if I don't care about the people involved in said plot. Of course, none of this was really the main reason of why I never watched anything after season one of LOK, but I couldn't wait to watch the whole of ATLA. I watched the entire thing in less than a week (yes, I might have a binging problem, I can handle it).

The reason? Episodic vs Serial.

I hate (HATE) serial tv shows. You know the ones. You miss one episode (any one episode), and you don't know what is going on in the show anymore. Although ATLA had an overarching plot/goal, you can watch any episode and not be lost. Heck, you could even watch the last three episodes (the series finale), and be fine and probably even enjoy it (not as much as if you had seen the whole show, but you would know what is happening and who the main players are). LOK on the other hand was a serial without a defined overarching plot/goal (I feel like that should be impossible but apparently not). You drop in in the middle of the show, and you would be super confused. You would also hate the characters, which means you would have no desire to find out what is going on by watching the rest of the show.

This brings me to one of the points of this post.

Wait, I was working up to a point and more than one? Yes. I don't just ramble.

Streaming services have changed (ruined) tv shows.

Because you can basically watch an entire season (show) at once, creators can make shows much more serial than in the past. It's okay if you miss some of a season/show because you can always catch up when in comes on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon, etc. I think this is why I love crime shows because they are almost exclusively episodic in nature. You might have a few overarching plot lines in the show, but it's usually only a few episodes throughout the season (and they always give a recap if it relates to another episode). It is really hard to get into a show now without having to watch everything that came before (not a problem if it's a couple of episodes, but if it's a couple of seasons, so annoying).

I realize, I am even this way in my reading habits. I love series in books because I love coming back to the same characters over and over. Now, obviously series sound like they should be serial, but my favorite book series are episodic in nature. The Three Investigators, McGurk Mysteries, Time Warp Trio, Star Wars and Star Trek books, or I stick to specific authors, Agatha Christie, Bruce Coville, Jerry Spinelli, William Sleator, etc. I do have a few series that are serial that I love, but I don’t re-read the whole series often (usually just my favorite book in the series), I have read it since the start, or it’s the source material for a show I like that I have watched all the way through (most of my manga is like this because the animes don’t always cover the whole series, and they tend to have arches that provide good starting and stopping points). Those are never be that long though. Fullmetal Alchemist is 27 volumes, which is relatively short for a manga (One Piece another manga, that I will never read, is currently on it’s 86 volume and still going, I believe).

What about the big series, like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or Lord of the Rings? You ask. Well, first LOTR is a trilogy (different from a series because it is just always more compact than a series) and was originally one book, but Tolkien’s publisher was like that’s insane, no one will read a fantasy book that long, we are splitting it into a trilogy (totally a genius move). As for Percy, I love the first series, it’s five books, each one has it’s own pretty independent story, and Percy is probably one of the best heroic characters even (because he reacts normally to crazy danger and is hilarious). I do not like that Riorden keeps expanding the universe though. There is a sequel series (which is not from Percy’s point of view the whole time, which is one of the best things about the original series), the sequel, sequel series (The Trial of Apollo), The Magnus Chase series (which is not as connected, and I liked the first book, but I can’t get into the second one because I can already tell that it is getting too serial). The only other series he has done is the Kane Chronicles (a trilogy and only gives a nod to the Percy universe). His books remind me of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oh, the MCU (and the DCEU). I love superhero movies, but they are too interconnected now (it is why I don’t read actual comics). I want to be able to miss watching some, but I feel like I can’t if I want to watch a later one that comes out. Like a serial show/book series.

Harry Potter. So, I love the first three HP books. Love them. I like the other books in the series, but I love the first three. Love. Did I mention, I love them. Because I do. For a long time I couldn’t understand why this was the case. The other books were good and had the same format (I will come back to this), so why did I not love them as much? It goes back to the episodic vs serial concept. The first three books are very episodic (and the fourth to an extent, but that is still a little serial at the end because it’s the beginning of the plot for the rest of the books), and the last three are serial. You can’t really skip a book after the fourth one. I don’t even own the last four books anymore (I know, gasp! and shame!) because they aren’t fun for me to read anymore unless I want to read all of them (ain’t nobody got time for that, jk, I have all the time, just not for that).

I wanted to touch on the HP series for another reason besides the fact that it was at one point one of my favorite series as a whole. The series format is something I never thought about until I watched another video which talked about how each HP book is a mystery in a fantasy setting. They don’t know something at the beginning of the book (what is the giant, three-headed dog guarding?  Who is petrifying students? Why did Sirius Black escape from Azkaban?), the trio does some sleuthing, and at the end they solve the mystery. There just happens to also be magic. Oh mystery, you greatest of all genres (okay, this is total opinion, but if you don’t agree, you are wrong). Magic mysteries! How can that not be an awesome genre.  

**On an unrelated note: The video was about how the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is not a HP story (you know how it claims to be the eighth story) because it doesn’t follow the format (mystery story with a fantasy backdrop). (It isn’t written by Rowling either, so really, come on.)  It is in fact a time travel story (and from what I have read about it, a bad one) with little mystery and no sleuthing. It’s basically published fan fiction (fan fiction is fine, but there is a reason basically none of it gets published). Of course, it is also a play which shouldn’t be read in the first place. Reading plays. So dumb.**

Why do I bring up the fact that HP is just a mystery story with a fantasy backdrop? Because almost all of my favorite series (tv shows, books, and also movies), are mysteries. I have known that mystery is my favorite genre for a while, and it is because mysteries are episodic. It’s hard to stretch out a mystery over a long time.

But, Rachael, doesn’t every story have a mystery to it? That’s why we read and watch and listen to things because we don’t know what is going to happen?

Well yes, but the mystery genre is special because the characters are actively trying to solve the mystery that is presented in the beginning of the book. Furthermore, they tend to give all the clues to the readers, so they can also try to solve the mystery. Like in the first HP book, Harry gets a chocolate frog card of Nicholas Flamel that says he is the only creator of the Philosopher’s Stone (I refuse to call it by the “Americans are stupid so we need to change the name” name), which is a major clue to the mystery of the first book. Mysteries are wrapped up in one book, episode, movie, and if it does drag out over multiple books, episodes, or movies, then it is annoying.

Why?

Because remembering clues dropped two books ago, five episodes ago, or a movie that came out a year or more ago is hard (even for super smart people) unless you remember everything ever. So if your fans are trying to solve the mystery along with the protagonists, and they can’t remember all the clues to solve the crime, then you get frustrated fans who hate you. That is a dumb thing to do because fans kind of make your job possible. Respect them.

This is where I talk about Sherlock. A show that does not respect its viewership. I watched the first three series and the special, and I wasn’t really a fan after the second episode. Why? Well, for one it is the worst, most obnoxious depiction of Sherlock Holmes I have ever watched, but that is not it’s biggest crime.  I was watching another video about why Sherlock is the worst show ever (it’s a great video, but there is also copious amounts of swearing so…). The point the video made was that Sherlock is not actually a mystery/detective show because they never show you the sleuthing, the clues, or give you a chance to solve the crime along with Sherlock. You know, the reason WHY people like Sherlock Holmes in the first place. There is no chance for the audience to figure out the crime because they don’t give you most the clues that Sherlock apparently has found in his off screen sleuthing. Instead they just tell you how clever Sherlock is without showing any proof other than he says he solved the crime and everyone else is an idiot (that is paraphrased from the video).

** Rant: Seriously, when I would watch, I kept asking myself why John was friends with Sherlock because Sherlock treats John like crap ALL. THE. TIME. Very, very, very rarely does he say anything nice about John or does John help him solve cases. It’s basically a verbally abusive relationship that John does not leave for some reason. I mean, I guess “because Sherlock is just so smart” could be a reason, but it’s a dumb reason. UGH. I hate Sherlock so much. Why did I keep watching? Well, for one, I think there was enough time between series that I forgot a little how terrible it was and because I kind of hoped it would get better. Nope. All crap. I didn’t even realize a fourth season came out because I did not care about the show in any way anymore. Stupid show with all the lies and no respect for the viewers. You know what is a good Sherlock Holmes show? One that actually solves crimes with the viewers? Elementary. It is actually about solving crimes, and Watson is actually Watson, and Holmes is not an obnoxious butthole (why do I feel the need to apologize for that word? I won’t though because I hate BBC Sherlock that much).**      

I find mysteries fun for a few reasons. Sometimes I can solve the mystery before the protag can, and I feel like a genius (don’t lie, everyone likes to feel like a genius). Even when I don’t solve the mystery first, it’s fun to try and follow along with the protag. Finally, it’s like a promise/challenge between the audience and the creator. The creator promises to give all the information we need to workout the problem, but she is also challenging us to see if we can solve the problem before the protag does. I like that trust. Our trust in the creator that they will give all relevant information, and the creator’s trust in her work that her characters can beat us to the solution. When a mystery gets stretched out too long, it’s like breaking that trust. The book/episode/movie ends, but we don’t get the solution or the reasoning to the solution. We have to wait for the next instalment, and (unless it is a two part episode) we have to wait weeks or more before we can get the answer.  When creators leave unanswered questions, especially if it is  just so they can get you to read/watch the next instalment, it breaks that trust. It tells us (or me at least), that we can’t trust on them to deliver a solution and that they don’t trust their own work to be good enough to bring us back for more even if all the answers to the mystery of that work are answered (i.e. Sherlock).

Of course, now you are thinking, “When is this post going to end?” Soon, my preciousesssss, soon.

I wanted to talk about this because I am still contemplating writing an actual fiction book, but I wanted it to be something I would really love, so I needed to figure out what I really love. Mystery. That is what I love. Mystery series that are episodic and often geared towards children. Magic mysteries are also awesome. In my adult mysteries, I like romantic subplots What? Rachael hates romances. Only when it is the main genre because they are either boring and happy ending or boring and sad ending. I do like romantic subplots though. Love them in fact. It is the only way romance should ever be written. I do also like adventure/journey stories because those also have a definite start and end (The Hobbit and LOTR are fun adventure and epic journey respectively). Back to the point, I think I am actually going to start a book for realsies. Woot.

Oh, one more thing (not to do with the rest of the post), Disney is doing a new DuckTales tv show, and the first episode is on YouTube right now. You should watch it. Just search DuckTakes or DuckTales 2017. It is 44 min long (Yay! For pilots), and I have already watched it four times. I might be a little obsessed. Woo-oo.

DDoG: Mystery stories.